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Pilar C. French Photo

Pilar

Pilar C. French
ShareholderCommercial Litigation Team Co-Chair Financial Institutions Litigation Team Co-Chair
Portland
D 503.778.2170
C 503.467.9066
frenchp@lanepowell.com

Pilar French is a diligent and fearless advocate for her clients, representing clients in complex commercial litigation and counseling them on crisis management and emergency remedies. During her 20-year law practice, Pilar has litigated high-stakes matters for a variety of clients including software providers, retailers, manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and financial institutions.  

In addition to having significant experience in defending against government enforcement actions, Pilar has extensive experience in matters involving the financial and banking industry and has received annual recognition for her work by The Best Lawyers in America© since 2013. She was named “Portland Lawyer of the Year” for banking and finance litigation by Best Lawyers® in 2022 and is also recognized in Chambers® USA’s Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Super Lawyers Magazine.

Pilar brings project management skills to complex consumer, real estate and government enforcement litigation and is a Lean Sigma Yellow Belt®.

Before joining Lane Powell in 1999, Pilar worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice. While there, she represented the state in national and local cases involving enforcement of Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practice Act, Oregon’s Public Records Law, and matters concerning civil rights violations or claims of discrimination. Since leaving the Oregon Department of Justice, she has continued representing clients in these areas pro bono.

Experience

  • Rosenblum v. Oracle America Inc.
    Representing Oracle America in a series of lawsuits in Oregon state and federal courts between Oracle and the state of Oregon arising out of Oregon’s attempts to create and manage a state health insurance exchange (HIX) under the Federal Affordable Care Act.
  • California Based National Lender Mortgage Litigation
    Assisted a California based national lender in setting aside a $750,000 default judgment levied against it.
  • Henry G. Luken III v. Christensen Group Incorporated, et al.
    Successfully resolved a complex commercial dispute on behalf of a ship building business investor.

Professional Experience

Lane Powell PC (1999-Present)

  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, Member (2020-Present)
  • Talent Acquisition Committee, Co-Chair (2020-Present)
  • Advancement Committee
    • Co-Chair (2019-2020)
    • Member (2018-2020)

Oregon Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General (1996-1999)

  • Areas of Practice: Unlawful trade practice enforcement, civil rights litigation and appellate advocacy
     

Community Involvement

COVID-19 Medical Habeas, Team Member (2020-2021)

Oregon League of Minority Voters, Board Member (2018-2019)

Oregon Women Lawyers, Member (2017 to Present)

Artichoke Community Music, Board Member (2015-2016)

Rock N' Roll Camp for Girls, Board Member (2007)

Portland Business Alliance

  • Member
  • Leadership Portland, Participant (Class of 2005)

American Inn of Court

  • Indianapolis Chapter (1995-1996)
  • Portland Chapter (1999-2005, 2017-2020)

Multnomah Bar Association

  • Member
  • CourtCare Advisory Board, Board Member (2004)

American Bar Association, Member

National Institute of Trial Lawyers, Trial Advocacy Course (2000)  

Sellers of Travel Legislative Committee, Co-Chairperson (1997-1998)

Southeast Legal Clinic, Volunteer
 

Thought Leadership

  • August 18, 2022News

    The Best Lawyers in America© 2023 Recognizes 90 Lane Powell Attorneys

    Awards & Honors
  • July 1, 2022News

    Fifteen Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers in Oregon for 2022

    Awards & Honors
  • June 1, 2022News
    Lane Powell Again Ranked Among Top Firms in 2022 Chambers® USA
    Awards & Honors
  • August 19, 2021News
    The Best Lawyers in America© 2022 Recognizes 90 Lane Powell Attorneys
    Awards & Honors
  • August 20, 2020News
    The Best Lawyers in America© 2021 Recognizes 92 Lane Powell Attorneys
    Awards & Honors
  • April 27, 2020Publication
    Will Congressional Amendments to the CARES Act Actually Help 'Mom and Pop' -Sized, and Women and Minority-Owned, Small Businesses?
    COVID-19 Resource
  • April 23, 2020Publication
    Potential Lender Liability Under the CARES Act
    COVID-19 Resource
  • March 30, 2020Publication
    Congress Also CARES About Self-Employed Individuals
    COVID-19 Resource
  • March 28, 2020Publication
    Why Everyone CARES About SBA Loans: Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Relief for ‘Small’ Businesses
    COVID-19 Resource
  • March 23, 2020Publication
    Small Businesses in Oregon and Washington May Be Eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loans Due to COVID-19
    COVID-19 Resource
  • October 2019Publication
    Residential Foreclosures (Judicial) (OR)
    Westlaw Practice Note
  • Summer 2019Publication
    Join the Jetsons: Make Technology Work for Your Legal Practice
    American Bar Association’s The Woman Advocate
  • August 15, 2019News
    The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 Recognizes 63 Lane Powell Attorneys
    Awards & Honors
  • August 8, 2019Event / CLE
    Bank Fraud and Other Litigation Trends
    Oregon Banker’s Association | Salem, Oregon
  • December 11, 2018Event / CLE
    Overcoming Adversity Through Community
    Oregon Women Lawyers | Portland, Oregon
  • August 15, 2018News
    The Best Lawyers in America© 2019 Recognizes 62 Lane Powell Attorneys
    Awards & Honors
  • 2018Event / CLE
    Women In Leadership Symposium
    National Diversity Council | Portland, Oregon
  • August 15, 2017News
    Fifty-nine Lane Powell Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers® in America 2018
    Awards & Honors
  • May 10, 2017Event / CLE
    Rainmaking & Career Development Mentoring Circle
    Oregon Women Lawyers
  • August 17, 2016News
    Fifty-one Lane Powell Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017
    Awards & Honors
  • August 17, 2015News
    Forty-eight Lane Powell Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America® 2016
    Awards & Honors
  • October 22, 2014News
    French and Poplawski Author Chapters in Oregon Statutory Time Limitations Legal Guide
  • August 18, 2014News
    Fifty-One Lane Powell Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America® 2015
    Awards & Honors
  • August 2014Publication
    Residential Trust Deeds and Mortgages; Foreclosure
    Oregon State Bar’s Oregon Statutory Time Limitations Guide
  • June 15, 2012Event / CLE
    Foreclosure Mediation: Complying With SB 1552
    Oregon Bankers Association | Salem, Oregon
  • 2012Event / CLE
    The Latest in Foreclosure and Foreclosure Mediation
    Oregon State Bar | Portland, Oregon
  • 2012Event / CLE
    Handling a Foreclosure Case
    Oregon State Bar | Portland, Oregon
  • 2011Event / CLE
    Enforcing Oregon’s Trust Deed Act
    Multnomah Bar Association | Portland, Oregon
  • Awards_2023 Best Lawyers America
  • Chambers USA Leading Lawyer 2022
  • 2022 Super Lawyers

Practices & Industries

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Electronic Discovery, Technology & Strategy
  • Financial Institutions Litigation & Investigations

Education

  • Indiana University , J.D., 1996
    • Received Top Papers in Environmental Law and Feminist Jurisprudence
    • National Administrative Law Moot Court Competition, Finalist and Top Oralist (1995)
  • Northwestern University, B.A., with honors, 1992

Accreditation

Legal Lean Sigma® and Project Management Yellow Belt Certification

Admissions

  • Oregon
  • Washington
  • U.S. District Court, Oregon
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Washington
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Oregon
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Language

  • French

Honors

“Portland Lawyer of the Year,” Best Lawyers®, Banking and Finance Litigation (2022)

Chambers® USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Litigation: General Commercial (2022)

The Best Lawyers in America©, Banking and Finance Litigation (2013-2023) 

"Oregon Super Lawyer," Thomson Reuters, Civil Litigation: Defense (2022)

Before proceeding, please note:  If you are not a current client of Lane Powell PC, please do not include any information in this email that you or someone else considers to be confidential or secret in nature.  Prior to the establishment of a lawyer-client relationship, unsolicited emails from non-clients containing confidential or secret information cannot be protected from disclosure.

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